Big rigs added to NYPD emergency service unit

NEW YORK — As the authorities closed in on a group of men they suspected of plotting to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx, they wanted to make sure all avenues of escape were blocked off.

A helicopter flew overhead and a swarm of officers from several law enforcement agencies stood ready. But the Police Department also rolled something a little different onto the scene on May 20: two 18-wheel tractor-trailers.

The department has many tools in its arsenal, from bomb-disposal devices to speedboats to instruments that can detect biological or chemical attacks.

But big rigs? It does not happen frequently, but there are times, the police say, when a tractor-trailer is right for the job. And when such a tool is needed, the police turn to the elite Emergency Service Unit.